Preliminary hearing for Shawnee murder defendant postponed until April

A Shawnee man charged with murder in the first degree, deliberate intent, for the November stabbing death of his stepfather was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday but it was instead postponed until April.

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By Kim Morava

The Shawnee News-Star

By Kim Morava

Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 9:00 AM

By Kim Morava

Posted Feb. 1, 2013 at 9:00 AM

A Shawnee man charged with murder in the first degree, deliberate intent, for the November stabbing death of his stepfather was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday but it was instead postponed until April.

Joseph Michael Neay, 22, is charged in Pottawatomie County District Court and is accused of unlawfully, and with malice aforethought, causing the death of Marty Lee Jones by stabbing him with a knife, charges read.

During a preliminary hearing, a judge determines if there’s sufficient evidence for a case to proceed to trial. Neay’s hearing is now scheduled for April 11.

Jones, 45, was found dead Nov. 2 in his home, 709 E. 11th, and Neay was arrested in the case later that afternoon.

Police said a postal carrier delivering mail reported smoke coming from the house just before 10 a.m. that Friday. Shawnee firefighters responded to battle that blaze and found Jones dead in the kitchen.

According to the arrest warrant in this case, the body was found in a pool of blood in the kitchen, but evidence suggested a struggle in the home started in a back bedroom.

According to reports in the case, Neay allegedly admitted walking to the home to confront Marty Jones about allegedly assaulting his mother. He allegedly told detectives he walked into the front door and that he and Jones began fighting in the bedroom.

"Neay advised that he took a knife from Marty and began cutting and stabbing Marty," the warrant shows.

The fight reportedly ended in the kitchen, where Neay told police he used a lighter to ignite some sheets over the body, the affidavit indicated.

Neay left the scene of foot and allegedly threw the knife in a creek, the warrant shows. Later, Neay took officers to the location of the knife, where it was recovered, the warrant shows.

Neay remains jailed without bond in the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center.